MWL1 Dayton Dragons

Dragons GameDay

Published on May 21, 2009 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Dayton Dragons News Release


Thursday, May 21, 2009 n Game # 40

Modern Woodmen Park n Davenport, Iowa nƒn8:00 p.m.

Radio: 1410 ESPN Radio WING-AM

Dayton Dragons (13-26) at Quad Cities River Bandits (21-17)

RH Lance Janke (0-1, 1.74) vs. LH Hector Cardenas (3-1, 3.95)

Today¡¦s Game: The Dragons (affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds) meet the River Bandits (affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals) in the second game of a three-game series and game six of a 10-game road trip for Dayton. Season Series: Dayton 1, QC 0.

Dayton on the Road Trip: 4-1 (won three of four at Lansing).

About Tonight¡¦s Opponent: Quad Cities is 15-6 at home¡KThey are 9-10 overall in the month of May¡KThey are 13th in the league in batting average, but fifth in runs scored¡KThey are third in the league in walks¡KQC is last in the league in stolen bases and stolen bases attempted¡KThey are tied for sixth in home runs¡KThe River Bandits are 10th in team ERA and 13th in team fielding¡KThey are batting .227 over their last 10 games and have a team ERA of 3.45 over the same period.

Last Game: Dayton scored four runs in the top of the first inning and built a 6-0 lead by the middle of the third on the way to a 9-3 victory over Quad Cities in the series opener on Wednesday. Carlos Mendez¡¦s two-run triple with two outs in the top of the first ignited the offensive explosion. Mendez, Kyle Day, Cody Puckett, and Kevin Coddington each had two hits for Dayton. Puckett had a home run, his sixth of the season. Curtis Partch allowed just two runs over six innings for the win.

Today¡¦s Starting Pitcher: Lance Janke makes his third start of the season for the Dragons tonight. Janke came off the disabled list to pitch for the first time in 13 days in his last start on Saturday night at Lansing. His line: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO. Five of Janke¡¦s seven appearances this season have come out of the bullpen. Janke was a 14th round draft pick in 2008 by the Reds out of San Diego Christian College. Janke was a starting pitcher last season at Billings, going 3-2, 5.60 in 11 games.

Skipper: Todd Benzinger makes his professional baseball managerial debut in 2009. Benzinger enjoyed a nine-year major league playing career from 1987-1995 with the Reds, Red Sox, Royals, Dodgers, and Giants. Todd is a former first baseman who recorded the final putout of the 1990 World Series with the Reds to complete their four-game sweep of the Oakland A¡¦s. Benzinger is a native of the Cincinnati area and currently resides in West Chester, Ohio. He has enjoyed a highly-successful career coaching girls¡¦ high school basketball since 1999.

Individual Notes

¡P Shortstop Miguel Rojas is batting .323 over his last 17 games, raising his batting average from .133 to .232.

¡P Infielder Carlos Mendez is batting .345 with a home run over his last 13 games and is batting .322 on the year.

¡P Second baseman Cody Puckett is batting .382 with seven doubles and two home runs in his last eight games.

¡P Relief pitcher Mace Thurman has tossed seven scoreless innings over his last two outings, earning wins in both.

Team Notes

¡P The Dragons have won four of five games on the current road trip. They have outscored their opponents 29-11 in the five games.

¡P A win tonight for the Dragons would give them two consecutive series victories for the first time this season. They won three of four at Lansing to start the trip.

¡P The Dragons have posted a 2.11 ERA as a team in the first five games of this road trip.

¡P The Dragons are batting .267 over the last 15 games, raising their full-season average from .230 to .245. The Dragons are hitting .279 as a team in the five games on this trip.

¡P The Dragons bullpen has allowed only one run over the last four games covering 14.2 innings.

¡P The Dragons are 12-14 over their last 26 games after starting the season 1-12.

¡P In 19 of the Dragons 39 games this season, the eventual winning team trailed at some point during the game. The Dragons have trailed in six of their 13 wins while their opponent has come from behind to win 13 games.

¡P Nine of the Dragons¡¦ 26 losses have come by one run. The Dragons are 4-9 in one-run games.

Upcoming Probable Pitchers (All game times are Dayton time)

Friday (8:00 p.m.): Dayton RH J.C. Sulbaran (0-0, 3.15) at Quad Cities RH Scott McGregor (1-2, 8.31)

Saturday (7:30 p.m.): Dayton LH Matt Fairel (2-2, 3.12) at Burlington TBA

Sunday (3:00 p.m.): Dayton RH Josh Ravin (1-5, 4.95) at Burlington TBA

Monday (3:00 p.m.): Dayton RH Curtis Partch at Burlington TBA

Check out the Dayton Dragons Statistics

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Midwest League Stories from May 21, 2009


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